Korea: Why Metal Chopsticks?
Korea is the only country in the world to use metal chopsticks. Other Asian countries, including China, Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia, use chopsticks made of wood, or bamboo. Not only are Korean chopsticks made of metal, but they’re also flatter, square in shape, and often more of a ‘middle length’ than the chopsticks you’d find elsewhere.
But why did Korea develop the tradition of using metal chopsticks? One major theory is that royalty during the Baekje period began using silver chopsticks as a way of protecting themselves from being poisoned by their enemies, as the silver would change color when in contact with a poisonous chemical. It is said that the common people then began to use steel chopsticks themselves, as a way of emulating the King.
Other theories state that, because Koreans used a spoon to eat their rice (unlike other Asian countries) it was not necessary to use stickier, wooden chopsticks. It is generally believed in Korea that metal chopsticks are more hygienic than wooden ones, too.
(GastroTourSeoul.com)
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